Tag Me
by JTtheWarden
Summary: Kurt saves a girl, then discovers she was once his enemy. She doesn't know her name, but she knows she's home.Trying out my Xfanchar.
1. What's My Name?

You're It

"We're being challenged, are we?" the old man asked, as he stood beside the window of their headquarters gazing at the group of people assembled on the lawn just outside. A jet had just landed and a scuffle between one of the newcomers and another from his side had already broken out. He held a metallic helmet which he now placed on his head, giving him a bit of a warrior look despite his age. A young woman tugged on the cloak he wore and he turned to face her, his wrinkled face showing nothing less than disappointment. The woman swallowed and began to speak, her indigo eyes showing nothing of the turmoil she felt inside. Her left hand swept through her long, reddish-brown hair in a gesture that seemed more habit than anything else. She wore a black turtleneck with no sleeves and blue cargo jeans with black sneakers adorned with red markings. She tucked her hair behind tall, pointed ears.

"My lord, permission to speak?" she asked, formally, and as she spoke, silver braces gleamed from behind her soft lips. She swallowed again, removing her hand from her hair. He surveyed her with an expression of great dislike, and then he finally gave her a curt nod. "May I accompany you in this battle? I will not fight if that is what you wish," she said, bowing her head. She ground her teeth together, knowing he would refuse her wish.

"My dear girl," he said, spitting out the words as though they were bile in his mouth. "You know my opinion of you being near battles. You cannot control your power. You may misdirect your target and end up doing more harm than good."

"Begging your pardon, Lord Eric, but I have not been given instruction on how to develop my power. How am I to ever gain strength and control over my powers if I am not taught to do so?" she asked, remaining in her bowed position.

"You should not have to be given instruction. Your power should have been developed already, since you claim to have had it since childhood. I will not change my mind, girl," he said, holding up a hand to silence her. Her jaws snapped shut as he forced her braces together. She did not struggle or resist and he released her. "You will always be weak, girl, and there's nothing you can do about it. I am not entirely sure why I allowed you to remain on in the Brotherhood for so long when you are as useless as wet paper and just as weak. I have decided that you should leave us. Now, before I shall allow Steele to 'bend you' as he so eloquently puts it." the old man swept past her, his cloak billowing out behind him. She stood up, glaring after him as he went through large double doors.

"I'm not weak…" she whispered, softly, and exited through a door to her left. The chaos outside had elevated to an all-out, full-scale, miniature war. She fled down three flights of stairs and burst through a door that led to a small room, dimly lit.

"What's wrong?" a young man's voice asked. The woman gasped and whirled about, then noticed a man sitting on the wall like a tree frog.

"Oh… Toad…" she reddened and took a deep breath. "It's Magneto… He's decided that I have to go…"

"Go?" Toad repeated, jumping off the wall and landing beside her. "You mean… leave… for good?" she nodded and he drew her in his arms. "You can't go, I… I need you here… with me…" he whispered, and she gripped him in a tight hug as his lengthy tongue snaked out to gently stroke her neck. It entered her mouth as she kissed him, her hands holding the back of his neck, just below his dark green hair. She broke the kiss, unwillingly, and hugged him again.

"I have to go, Toad… he said he'll let Steele kill me if I don't.." she gave him another deep kiss, softly stroked his cheek, and violently tore herself away to run through another door that led to the front lawn, directly between two combatants. One was a huge, silver being, and the other appeared to be a young teenager with icy blue eyes that flashed yellow. She barely had time to register how familiar this was when something latched onto her in a sort of hug and she saw a comforting darkness and heard a scream of shock and terror.

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"Professor, is she avake?" a male voice asked, in what sounded like a German accent.

"She will be shortly," another man answered, an old man judging by his timbre. The woman tried to open her eyes, only to be instantly blinded by a light she had not expected.

"Unh…" she moaned softly. "Where am I?" she asked, slowly easing her eyes open to adjust to the light.

"You are in Xavier's School for the Gifted," the old man answered. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, at your service." She blinked a few times and sat up, wincing at the soreness in her upper arms. She looked around and saw that she was in a type of medical facility, or at the very least, a medical room. To her immediate right was a bald man in a wheelchair, and the first thing she noticed was his kind eyes. He smiled in a warm, paternal way, and he extended his hand to her. She shook it, her own hand trembing.

"Professor X?" she whispered. He nodded. "Who is… are they?" she asked, looking around weakly at the room full of people.

"This is Dr. Jean Grey," the man said, and a redheaded woman stepped forth, smiling sweetly. "Our junior telepath. To her right is Scott Summers, also called Cyclops, able to shoot energy beams from his eyes," he continued, and the man standing next to her nodded, his eyes covered by a strange form of glasses. "This is Ororo Munroe, also called Storm, our weathergirl," he said, and a lovely black woman with accenting snow-white hair bowed and smiled. She seemed very likeable. "This is…" he began, but the next person interrupted him. A tall, dark and sexy man stepped forwards, smirking at her.

"I'm Logan, but some call me the Wolverine," he said, looking down at her. She was unable to stop staring into his eyes, they were so captivating. "I can heal myself faster than normal people, and…" he smirked, lifted a brow, and shot blades from his hands. She jumped and he laughed, showing them to her. They reminded her of claws, and she thought that Wolverine was a very appropriate name for this feral man. She reached out to lightly touch his claws and he retracted them.

"Enough showing off, Logan," the man they called Cyclops chided. She gave a small smile and looked around. Where was the German?

"Guten tag," said a voice above her. She looked up to see a blue demon hanging from a pole directly above her bed. He grinned sheepishly to reveal pointed teeth. His yellow eyes never left hers as she studied him. He wore a long dark trench coat with hundreds of sparkling dots and striped pants; under his trench he wore what resembled a yellow vest of sorts. His short blue hair was tousled, he had pointed ears like she did, and just barely visible on his deep indigo skin were angelic symbols, hundreds of them, artistically carved. "My name ist Kurt. Kurt Vagner. I am sometimes called ze Nightcrawler."

"Guten tag," she replied, looking into his amber eyes once again. "My name is Tag." She directed her gaze to the rest of the mutants, and she heard a whooshing noise and the Nightcrawler appeared on the floor with the rest, tendrils of smoke drifting lazily about him only to vanish seconds later.

"Vat ist your real name?" he asked, sitting down beside her on the bed.

"Tag is my real name. At least… that's the only name I remember. All my life that's what I've been called, mostly because of my power and what I used it for as a child," she said, looking away from everyone to the floor.

"What power is that?" the Professor asked her. She glanced up at him, reveling in his warm look. He seemed to genuinely care about her past.

"I can… well… it'd be better if I showed you. I'm not an expert with it, so," she looked around for something small, and saw a bag of marbles lying on the small side table. "Hey, my marbles!" she said, smiling. "Well, um… does anyone have something small I can use?" The group looked at each other, then finally Logan handed her a chain with what resembled a dog tag. She did not study it, but handed it to Kurt. "Hold this, please," she said, avoiding his eyes. They entranced her. "And… Miss Munroe, can you hold one of these marbles?" she asked, looking up at the woman. She looked at her questioningly, but took a large blue marble and held it in her upturned palm. Tag closed her eyes and opened them, slowly, holding her hand out in a halt motion. She engaged her power and both Storm and Kurt jerked their hands back in apparent horror. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry!" Tag exclaimed, gasping. Storm now had a three-fingered blue hand and Kurt had a dainty, brown hand. She reversed the process and blushed fiercely. The others burst into laughter, except the professor, who looked more thoughtful instead.

"Why can you not direct your power? I would have thought that someone who has had their power for so long would have better control," the professor said, and she was grateful for the lack of anger or mockery in his voice.

"I ceased to use it after I hit my teens, fearing the people who hunted mutants. I had a better degree of control then, because I used it so often, playing with my friends. But once our parents…" she stopped, flustered. They certainly were disarming, already she had told them so much more than she had ever revealed to her former lord. Or perhaps it was more comfortable than disarming.

"You don't have to tell us more if you don't wish," Dr. Grey said, placing a gentle hand on Tag's shoulder. She nodded, but then surprised herself by continuing.

"We… used to play Power Tag; we'd use our powers to play Tag with each other. I was the master, so everyone called me Tag, and eventually, so did my parents. They called me that so often, I forgot my real name and adopted Tag instead. We played this game until I was about twelve, and…" she paused. Cyclops was frowning. "Something wrong?"

"The other kids… who are they? Do you know what happened to them?" he asked, and she saddened.

"Yes... I know what happened to them… three weeks after my twelfth birthday, one of my friends told his parents about us and our mutant powers. His name was Chameleon, and he could blend in with anything, any pattern. His parents panicked, and then they slaughtered their own son. They called everyone else's parents, mine included, and shared this news. I do not know if they urged the others to kill their children, or whether they individually decided this, but one of them, my crush at the time, found a way out before he died. His name was Zigzag, and he was a jumper. He could do limited teleportations, and did so in diagonal patterns. He managed to find me in my room before he died and my parents got to me. He told me what was happening… told me the others were dead… and then he vanished permanently." Tag broke off, choking back horrible memories. The assorted mutants looked at each other, feeling pity and worry for the young woman they had rescued.

"You don't have to tell us more if it hurts you," Storm said, quietly. Tag swallowed and shook her head.

"You… you need to know… believe me." She inhaled deeply, and then looked up at Kurt. His eyes froze her in place; the raw emotion in them surprised her. She darted her eyes away again. "I… had a large collection of pocketknives and daggers in my room, passed on from my great-grandfather down to me. I took my sharpest one, a miniature replica of Excalibur, and laid back in my bed to wait for my parents. I prayed that they would be forgiving, maybe compassionate. They came in, as if they were going to tuck me in, and I saw in their eyes the anger, hatred, and pain. I knew then it was hopeless to pray for their understanding. Mom bent over me, as if to hug me, and I saw the glint of a kitchen knife in her hand. I switched it with my teddy bear and stabbed her through the heart. My father yelled in shock and rage, and tried to run. I knew he would hunt me if he was left alive, he was just that kind of man. So I switched him for my mother's lifeless body, and killed him as well. The police… tried to catch me, but I kept switching their guns for vegetables and stuff from my mother's garden. To this day, I'm not sure how they got there so fast. I think I might have sat there, trembling on my bed, covered in my parents' blood, for a long time. I'm not sure. I… escaped. I found another mutant, a kid who was different, like me. By then, I had developed the pointed ears, so school and a normal life was out of the question. The mutant I had found took me to a group of mutants he called the Brotherhood. He told me their leader would welcome me and for a time, Magneto treated me as one of them."

"Magneto?" Logan exclaimed, unsheathing his claws unconsciously. "You're one of the Brotherhood?" His former captivating eyes had lost their attractive quality and had instead taken on a terrifying, dangerous tone. The professor frowned at him.

"Logan, relax. She is not going to attack us, at least not for the moment."

"Please, hear me out…" she said, bowing her head. "You need to hear the rest. Please?" Logan glared at her, but sheathed his claws obediently. "The mutant became my closest friend, and my constant companion. We were always together, and eventually Magneto allowed us to bunk together. His name is Mortimer, otherwise called Toad. We developed a deeper relationship…" she blushed, avoiding everyone's gaze. "But Magneto soon grew impatient with my lack of control over my powers. He grew angry, and soon he gave up on me and refused to allow me to learn to control them or even to be near a battle in case I tried to help. Then… The day you all attacked his headquarters, he shunned me entirely and bid me away from the Brotherhood. He threatened to have me killed if I remained. I told my… I told Toad, and then I rushed outside to leave, when I… Well… I'm not sure what happened… How did I end up here?" she looked around the room, in search of an explanation.

"Vell… I saw you run outside, and right between Colossus and Mystique. He vould have killed you if I had not… vell… I ported to you and grabbed you, zen teleported you to safety…" his cobalt face turned slightly redder and he looked away. She looked at him uncertainly.

"What? What is it?" She put her hand on his shoulder and made him look at her. "Kurt?" he looked at her sheepishly.

"Vell… ven I ported you, somezing went wrong and… Professor, could you explain? I haff somezing I must attend to…" Kurt said, teleporting outside the door. She gazed after him, concerned and very nervous.

"Bitte erzählen Sie mich?" Tag asked, looking from one mutant to another. All of them started to grin, even the professor, who had given her the distinct impression that little could make him crack a smile. "What? Tell me, please?" Logan stepped up to her, smirking in a most vexing way. His anger had left him as she finished her tale.

"When he teleported you, he did it in a hurry and accidentally left most of your clothes behind. He's never done that before. You arrived here with only a blanket on you, where he had stopped to get you one."

"You said most of my clothes… why only a blanket?" she said, studying him.

"He continued to leave them behind until there was just you, that bag of marbles, your boots, and your necklace. When you got here, he was blushing as if he was going to explode and you were in a small blanket. We took you from him, and brought you down here, and he vanished for a few hours. Personally, I think he had…"

"Shut it, Logan," Cyclops interjected as Tag began to blush. "We aren't finished with your medical attention, Tag, so you'll need to spend the night in here." A whooshing noise drew their gaze to the space beside the professor, where Kurt had reappeared. He refused to meet anyone's eyes but the professor.

"You… called for me?" he asked, shyly. Behind him, Logan gave Tag a knowing wink. She blushed harder.

"Yes. Miss Tag will have to stay here for the night, to assure there was no lasting damage from your erratic teleportation. No, I'm not scolding you, Kurt," he said, as Kurt bowed his head in shame. "I want you to keep her company and report back to me if anything should go wrong." Logan stepped forward, scowling.

"Why does the little imp stay? Why not someone else?" he asked, looking from Kurt, to Tag, and back to the professor.

"Because if something should happen, I want instant information, not you running down the halls waking people up. Kurt is the best choice, and I also believe he should make it up to her the embarrassment she endured at his hands. However unintentionally it may be." Logan glared at Kurt again, pushed past Jean and stormed out.

"I... I wasn't too comfortable with him in here anyway…" Tag admitted, and Jean and Storm burst into giggles.

"We don't blame you, honey," Storm said, eliciting a grin from the rest. "Come on you two," she said, pushing Jean and Scott towards the door. "We have classes. They don't wait. Professor?" she added, looking behind her as the three of them started off.

"Yes, Storm, one moment," he said, waving her on. "Tag, I must ask you why exactly Eric forced you away."

"He… recently, he's been getting touchier and touchier about having strong mutants in the Brotherhood, such as Steele. I did not meet specifications, obviously, so he threw me out. I think he's building an army of mutants, but I'm not sure. He had some degree of command over us and what we did, and for most of us he had implanted some metal device or another in our bodies. In my case, the braces," she said, reaching up to touch them. "I don't need them. He wanted control over me. I hate them… I want them off. He can't control me anymore. I'm not his slave anymore." she looked away from them both, breathing rapidly. Professor Xavier placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her solemnly.

"If you wait until tomorrow, or later, perhaps, when Jean's classes are over, I can get her to remove them for you. If you want, that is," he said. She nodded and he started out the door.

"Professor… thank you. For everything. Around the Brotherhood, such kindness and compassion was not to be found." He smiled at her.

"I think you will find more than kindness and compassion here, my dear." 


	2. I Can't Go Back

"I think you will find more than kindness and compassion here, my dear," he said, glancing at Kurt. "And now I have a class to teach, so please excuse me." He rolled away and there was a silence so thick you could taste it. She fidgeted in her bed, touching the soft gown someone had dressed her in. It was the same shade of blue as her eyes. She looked around the room, taking in how white and clean it was. It had more technological advances than the local hospitals seemed to.

"So… you displace objects?" Kurt asked her, sitting in a chair one of the others had abandoned. She glanced at him for a second, then away as she nodded.

"I used to be talented with it; I'd displace people to play tag. Or I'd displace my vegetables with desserts when my parents left me at the table. Stuff I didn't have to look at, multiple objects, not just two at a time. I can no longer do these things safely." She looked back at him.

"You… I noticed… can speak German?" he asked, looking at her with interest.

"Some," she said, shrugging. "My parents loved the German language, and taught me some of it as a child. I, too… have a passion for it. I continued to try to study it when with the Brotherhood, but I was constantly distracted. I'd love to speak it fluently," she said, smiling slightly. "So… why the angelic symbols? Did you carve them yourself?" he blinked at her.

"Yes… and you know vat zey are? Few people have I met zat do know vat zey are… Zey are for my sins. I have quite a few of zem." He grinned, then sighed and bowed his head. "I zink you should be wary of Logan. He has his eyes on you, and he does not give up easily. You… after all… have Toad, yes?" she sighed and rolled away from him, onto her side.

"I don't know. He may decide to let me go… because I am no longer one of the Brotherhood. Like Magneto did." She sighed again. "It's probably for the best… I don't think I could keep him if he's on the opposing team. Too much conflict… we'd end up killing each other anyway…" she had lowered her voice so that he had to lean closer to hear her. She turned to face him and found herself centimeters from his face, his lips close to hers. She could not look away from his eyes, his alluring golden eyes. She stared into them for a long time, drowning in the emotions she found there. He leaned a few millimeters closer, and she could feel his warm breath on her face.

"I don't vant to make you hurt, Tag…" he whispered, placing a hand on her arm. "Tell me if zis is not vat you vant…" She looked at him, then bit her lip and turned away.

"Kurt… Ich… Es tut ich Leid…" she said, rolling on her side again. He ported away, to a corner of the room between the ceiling and two walls. "Please don't make me have to choose… I just don't love you…" she whispered, curling into a ball. She fell asleep with tears on her eyelashes. Kurt remained in his huddled position for a long time, watching over her like a guardian demon.

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"Wake up, Kurt," a soft voice implored. The teleporter slowly opened his yellow eyes to see Tag standing before him, her hand shaking his shoulder gently. "Wake up, come on," she whispered, her face as close as it had been before.

"Tag? Vat is it?" he asked, yawning. "Vat's wrong?" His eyes widened as she kissed him forcefully, then after he recovered from his initial surprise, he kissed her back, and held her close to him. "Tag… you changed your mind?" he murmured after a few minutes. She smiled wickedly and kissed him again, slipping her arms in beneath his trench coat. He moaned and pulled her closer, then kissed her neck and bit it gently. He could feel her shivering with excitement beneath his touch, and he looked down into her eyes. They were blank and he pushed her away, in horror. "Tag?" The room lost its light and he saw Toad pick up the blank-eyed Tag and begin to kiss her. Her eyes regained their life and she kissed him back. Kurt felt his bones splintering and he sat up with a shout, falling to the floor.

"Kurt?" Tag asked, sitting up in the bed she had slept in. There was nothing wrong with her eyes, or with the lights. She slipped out of bed and knelt beside him, and he found himself stupidly wondering how he had gotten there. "Kurt, are you alright? What happened? Why'd you fall?" He looked up at her, and she held her hand out to him.

"It must've been a dream," he said, breathing heavily. "It vas a bad dream…" he sighed in relief and took her hand.

"Can you tell me? It might help," she offered, sitting him down on the bed beside her. He shook his head, blushing.

"Can't, I'm sorry. It's… personal… but there vas pain. Pain of ze body and of ze heart." She lightly traced a symbol on his cheek.

"Well, its over," she said, and as he turned away, she took his chin and turned him back to her. "I'm sorry, Kurt… did it have to do with… what I said?" He nodded, averting his eyes. "I'm sorry. I am. I didn't mean to hurt you. You saved me, I owe you my life, and you… I hurt you. I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?" He looked at her once again.

"Do not vorry about it. You do not have to repay me."

"Why did you save me, anyway?" she asked, taking her hand from his face. "I was on the enemy's side, against you… so why?" He shrugged.

"I… just did it. I had no premeditation, no thought about it. Zat may be vy my teleportation messed up, also. I'm not quite sure vy, but I'm glad I did. You might have been killed, and vat a waste of life! I… yes… I don't know…" he said, swinging his tail back and forth slowly. He was rambling and he knew it.

"Thank you. I owe you… everything…" She hugged him gently, and for a long time, they sat there, feeling relaxed and at home in each others' arms. After a time, Tag pulled away. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean…" he held his hand up to silence her.

"Do not vorry. I understand. It is alright. You need to rest, Tag, so zat I may report it so to ze professor," he said, standing up. He jumped in surprise when she stroked his tail.

"Prehensile tail?" she asked, giggling as he tickled her with it. He grinned and nodded. He picked her up with it and brought her close to him, then held her upside down. "Such strength in it, too… How did you learn to do that?"

"I vas in ze circus for a long time as ze Incredible Nightcrawler," he said, smiling. "I vas an acrobat mostly, sometimes I vould do my own act, random feats of my powers. Ze crowds loved it, yet if zey met me outside of ze circus, zey would run from me. Zey feared me, and some hated me. I even vas attacked once or twice. But I never lost hope in humanity. I never hated zem, nor did I fear zem. I pitied zem."

"Humans always want to hate and destroy things they don't understand. They fear mutants… but you know… what would happen, if one day everyone was a mutant? Every day I see and hear about more and more of them emerging. If Magneto's plan, long ago, had worked, then what would have happened? True, most people would have died, but the point remains…" He set her down on the bed again.

"Yes, but vat if Stryker's plan, afterwards, had vurked? Zen everyone, every vorld leader vould be dead, if Magneto's machine had not killed zem! It is no use vondering about ze what-ifs, Tag. Zey bring only pain and uncertainty. You must alvays …"

"Yeah, yeah, kid, save it," Logan interrupted from the doorway. "Tag has a visitor." Tag and Kurt looked around sharply as he interrupted them, and Tag glared.

"I'm not sure you quite count as a visitor, Wolverine," she said, coldly. He smirked.

"Well, I'm not sure he quite counts as a guardian," he retorted, raising a brow as he looked at Kurt. "He didn't even look when I came in last night."

"You did VAT?" Kurt shouted, standing up, tail bristling. "Sie will Sie nicht, Logan!" he growled, and Tag looked up at him.

"Who is my visitor, then?" she asked, standing and placing a hand on the teleporter's arm, who looked away.

"Keep this in mind, Tag, if he wasn't here to see you, I'd have killed him by now. But as it is, Professor asked me to keep my claws to myself." He glared behind him, into the darkness of the hall. "Come on, kid," he said, jerking his head towards them. "You, out. Leave them alone." He said, pointing to Kurt.

"Tag…?" he asked, still tense. "I vill stay if you vant…" Tag shook her head.

"Thank you, Kurt… but no. I'll be fine, really. Go ahead." A hooded figure came into the room, and stood aside so that Logan and Kurt could leave the room. "Who…?" she asked, then gasped as a long, greenish tongue shot out and wrapped itself around her arm. "Mortimer?" The hood fell back and the tongue unwrapped itself from her arm as the man hopped to her. She smiled and hugged him warmly.

"How are you, Tag?" he asked, grinning sadly.

"I'm ok. They patched me up and are letting me hang here, but I'm not sure how long. They haven't tried to kill me yet, if that's what you're asking me. And… How are you?"

"Well, Mystique asked about you, Magneto got all pissed, and Steele's silent as usual. Saber… he doesn't care, one way or the other. I'm ok. I miss you a lot…" he hugged her to him. "Will you come back?"

"You know I can't. Besides… they care, here. They care about you, and what you think, and how you feel. It's like… family, sort of… I… instead, how about… how about you join us?" she asked, knowing long before she finished her question, it was pointless. 


	3. Your Opinion Doesn't Count

Wow, I need to update more often. Oo I have a few one-shots and songfics in the works, too, so go me. I don't own anyone in this bit so far, except Tag, Zigzag, and Chameleon. Oh, and Steele. But he's not important. Try not to fall asleep while reading, you might damage your keyboard.

* * *

"You know I can't leave. Besides… they care, here. They care about you, and what you think, and how you feel. It's like… family, sort of… I… instead, how about… how about you join us?" she asked, knowing long before she finished her question, it was pointless.

"You know I can't. Magneto saved me. I can't just leave him. He's like a father to me, no matter how much he gets frustrated with me, no matter how bad he treats me. I just can't. Sorry, Tag. I can't."

"But I need you here… with me…" she said, quoting him from their last meeting. He sighed.

"I know… but we can't, can we?" he turned from her, removing her arms from him.

"Where does that leave us?" she asked, mournfully. He winced and swallowed the golf-ball sized lump in his throat.

"Please don't say it like that. I love you, I don't want to lose you. But what do you want?" He turned back to face her. "Do you love me? How do I know that we can keep this going?"

"Mortimer…" she whimpered. She had never told him she loved him, and they both knew it. He didn't know that she had such a hard time even thinking the words, because she knew that most times, if people said they were in love, it was a pack of lies.

"Do you love me?" he repeated, forcing her to look at him. "If you don't, then I see no reason to continue this relationship. There can't be a relationship if there isn't love, you know," he said, snatching a fly from the far wall. His eyes were serious, something she hadn't seen unless they were fighting the very people she resided with.

"Toad… please don't…" she pleaded, turning away. He sighed and placed his hood back. "Wait, Toad!!" she cried, grabbing his hand. "Please… you don't know how hard it is for me to…"

"You don't have to explain to me. That blue kid that left. You love him, don't you? You're just trying to spare my…" Tag darted forwards and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Toad, be quiet. It's hard for me to admit I love someone. I've never been around people who were serious when they claimed they loved someone. I just can't bring myself to say it, regardless of whether or not I do. I refuse to say the same thing that so many liars have said, I refuse to say the phrase that people can just carelessly toss about and not care if it's true!" she sighed and turned away. "But if that's not good enough, perhaps we should just break it off. After all, we are on enemy sides now." The ruddy-faced young man stared at her.

"I had no idea… I….I'm sorry… Tag, forgive me. I'm just… apprehensive. I'm worried about what may happen to us now that we're apart. Magneto's bringing in new mutants all the time now, and he's building an army of them. I think he's trying to ready them…us… to fight Professor X's group, the X-men. You." he looked away again. "What if we meet on the battlefield? What if I have to fight you? He'll probably order me to kill you especially. You know how he is nowadays. He's gotten sadistic. I don't want to have to fight you. I don't want to lose you …" she slid his hood back and held him to her.

"If you love me, as you say, then the best thing to do is hold on and don't let this tear us apart. We… what we have is stronger than that, isn't it?" He turned his murky yellow eyes to her, smiled weakly, then nodded.

"You're right," he admitted, leaning closer to kiss her softly. "I'm sorry. I've never been like this, with anyone I've been with. You know that…" he smiled, kissed her once again, and pulled away. "I have to go now. Magneto will kill me if he thinks I've stayed too long, and I'm willing to bet that some of your new friends wouldn't mind a shot at me, too. Cyclops, that Grey woman, Storm. I'm damn lucky she didn't kill me!"

"Luck had nothing to do with it. I was there, waiting, and I got you out of the water and up to safety. Saber, too. I left Mystique and Magneto… that may be why he's always pissed at me now." Tag shrugged. "Personally, I don't care. That's finished. What he thinks of me isn't important. You'd better go, Toad," she said, hugging him. "And be careful, huh? I don't want to lose you." He smiled, nodded, and covered his head with the hood once again. He headed out the door, shoved by Logan, who stood just outside it.

"You ever hurt her, frog-boy, and I'll have frog legs for my supper," he snarled, just quiet enough to keep it from Tag.

"What do you care, you animal?" Toad retorted. "You don't even know her." Logan took a threatening step towards him and he backed away. "Yeah, I'm going, I'm going." He left, hunched over in an effort to remain unnoticed.

"So. That was your lover, huh?" Logan taunted, as he stepped in the doorway. "I'd dump him."

"But it is my opinion that counts in our relationship, not yours. I keep him. You go. Bye, bye," she said, shutting the door in his face. She leaned against it and slid to the floor, sighing. "Kurt was right," she whispered. "I need to be more on-guard around him. Guy like him is only trouble." She stood slowly and settled back down on the bed.

"This is the school end of the building," Professor Xavier explained as he took Tag through the halls. She now wore a gray hoodie with a small black X on the shoulder, and darker gray pants; occasionally, she licked her metal-free teeth. "Our children here are taught things they would learn in regular schools, but we also have special classes, where we teach young mutants to control their powers. Sometimes, their powers are too dangerous to attempt to control in a class with other students, so we have a 'Danger Room', where they have a large, indestructible space to practice using their powers. Because your power can, as we've seen, produce dangerous results, I must ask you to train yourself in here. Any spare time you get, I ask you to use this room to learn to control your power."

"I… I get to practice with it? Magneto never…"

"Magneto, from what you've told me, seems to be getting desperate to establish mutants as the superior race of beings on Earth. It seems to me that we're headed for a war unlike anything we've had to deal with so far. Would you be willing to fight against those you worked with for so long? Would you be able to face them, able to kill them if that's what it takes? If not…" They came to a stop in front of the elevator.

"They hated me, all but Toad. And like I've said before, it's still not sure if he and I are going to remain together. One thing I learned, being with them, was that they are ruthless. If I am not the same, to them, then they will kill me for my weakness and hesitation. I must show them no mercy, for they will show me none as well." The elevator opened and Logan stood there, smirking.

"My kind of girl," Logan said, leaning against the elevator door. Tag shot him a look that clearly said that he should go somewhere uncomfortably hot and stay there for all eternity. "Anyway, Professor, we got a message from her old associations."

"What kind of message?" The professor asked, not noticing how pale Tag's face had gotten. She knew what kind of messages Magneto was capable of.

"A little note that said we should kill the girl. Or they'd strike when we least expected it." He shrugged. "What he doesn't know is that we always expect this kind of thing, so don't worry about it, babe."

"God, don't call me that," she said, wrinkling her nose. She was very relieved to hear that he had not sent them Toad's corpse with a note pinned to his body by a corkscrew.

"Logan, I want you to go and inform Jean, Scott, and Storm as soon as their classes are finished. Tag, can you find Kurt and tell him? We need all our X-men alert, more so than usual."

"Yes, sir," she said, bowing, and she set off in the direction of the dormitories. She wasn't too familiar with the halls and rooms, even after four and a half days of staying in one of her own. She managed to find Kurt's room with little difficulty, and she timidly knocked on the door. "Kurt? Are you in?"

"No," a voice behind her said. She gasped and turned around rapidly. Kurt stood behind her, his etched skin and his disheveled hair damp. He wore only a pair of tan sweatpants and a golden cross necklace. She sidestepped, trying to get out from between him and his door. "Vat is it?"

"We got a message from Magneto. They're going to attack, when we least expect it, so the professor wants everyone to be ready." She avoided looking directly at him.

"Vy is he attacking us?" he asked, opening his door. "Is it about when ve attacked him? Ve vere only trying to…"

"It's because you took me in." She said, hanging her head in shame. "I asked the others if I should leave, but nobody's answered me yet. What do you think?" Kurt stopped in his doorway and gave her a long look.

"Come vith me," he said, gesturing into his room. "I von't close the door, Tag, don't vorry." He draped the towel over his head and rubbed vigorously, attempting to rid his hair of the excess water. "I just vant to talk to you, ok? Please come in," he said, noticing she was still standing awkwardly out in the hallway. She timidly stepped inside, and looked about, taking notice of all the Christian books and candles. "Tag, I'm going to be honest vith you- I do not want you to go. Ve can handle vatever Magneto throws at us, so do not feel guilty. Ze professor vould try to bring you home again, even if you did run. Likely, Logan vould try to get to you first." He grinned as she made a disgusted face and shivered.

"Ok, you've convinced me," she said, grinning slightly. He studied her for an eternity of a minute and she dropped her gaze, blushing. "I… I should go and train…" she mumbled, trying to back out of his room. She hit the doorway and winced.

"Do you know vere ze Danger Room is?" he asked her, oblivious to the fact that she and his door had become acquainted seconds before. Tag opened her mouth and closed it again, knowing she didn't and knowing she couldn't find it alone. She didn't really want to tell him that, however.

"N-no," she finally admitted. He pulled the towel off his hair and hung it up on a nail near the door. Tag took a small step back as he approached her, and he hesitated.

"I'm only going to port you to ze Danger Room. Unless you vould rather me valk zere vith you?" He gazed at her and she bit her bottom lip. He held back a grin as he surveyed the internal struggle playing itself out on the girl's face.

"I…We should walk, so that I will know where to find it next time…" She said, and he nodded. She swayed uncertainly on the spot, and he waved her away.

"Since ve are valking, I should finish dressing. Vait but vun moment…" he slipped on a sleeveless black shirt and grinned. "Now, ve may go," he said, and suddenly he was close, too close. She stared up at him, feeling half-trapped, half-expectant. Something close to amusement flitted across his face. He leaned close to her, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Tag," he whispered. She shivered and this response confused her.

"Y…yes?" She stammered, her heart and her head giving conflicting instructions.

* * *

Hee-hee. Now you have to wait for the next bit. Ah, I know ye don't care. heh. ye. ARRRRR'm a PIRATE!! 

Ahem. Yes, sorry. The next bit should be up soon... I hopies. I'm really bad at keeping the canon IC. Toad is MAJOR OOC. I apologize, I'm not an excellent writer. AUGH so much terrible love-drama. I think I should be banned from writing fics with love in them. They go nowhere. Happy Hols, everyone!


	4. This is Not a Drill

I'm back. I'm hungry. I still don't own anyone in this story except Tag, Steele, Zigzag, Chameleon, and Drake. I'm in a piratey mood, since I've been watching Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest all week. Enjoy.

* * *

"Y…yes?" She stammered, her heart and her head giving conflicting instructions. 

"If ve are to go, you must first get out of my doorvay…" he said, and she stumbled backwards. He winced almost imperceptibly, and she found herself wondering why.

"S…sorry, Kurt," she stammered, edging to the side and trying to figure out just why she felt so let down. He wasn't the type of guy that girls swooned over, after all. He was different. He was…staring at her again.

"Coming, Tag? Or vould you rather stay in my room all afternoon?" He blushed at the innuendo and turned away. "I…I mean, ve should go…" She scurried out of his room and shut his door, nearly crushing her fingers in the doorjamb as she did so.

"Ok, Herr Nightcrawler, lead the way," she said, falsely cheerful. He gave her a sideways look but started on. It was hard for her to pay attention to where she was going; her eyes seemed to stray back to her demonic guide no matter how hard she tried to avoid it. She prayed to all the powers that be that he did not notice.

"Ve are here," he said, all too soon. She jolted out of yet another reverie and nodded dazedly.

"Thank you, Kurt," she said, opening the door to the Danger Room. "I'll… see you later, I suppose?" she asked uncertainly.

"Of course, Tag. Ah… I should go and see if ze Professor has a job for me or not. Enjoy your training, and please take care. As comfortable as our hospital ving is, I do not zink you vould like to spend more time zere." He smiled, and paused. "Um… yes… be careful, alright? Ze Danger Room can be dangerous."

"Hence the name?" she asked, and they both grinned. "I'd better get started, Kurt… thanks for showing me the way. See you later," she said, and before the part of her mind that insisted that she stay in his company could convince her not to go, she slid inside and closed the door. She wasn't looking forward to training in such a large room all alone, and was about to state this aloud, when she realized she wasn't alone.

"I'm sorry, is it four already?" a young man asked her, and she gasped and jumped back, instinctively raising her hands, ready to engage her power. She found herself looking at a tall, blond man, and he would have looked completely human… if it weren't for the enormous angel wings sprouting from his back.

"I… yes, it is," she said, trying to control her breathing. He had really startled her.

"Don't shoot," he said, amused. "Or are they loaded?" She didn't know what he was on about, then she glanced down at her hands and gave a frightened yelp.

"I am so sorry!" she said, jerking her hands away from their battle positions. "Is everything where it should be? I didn't attack, did I?"

"No, I'm properly assembled," he said, perplexed by her hysterical stance. "You're… Tag, right?"

"So far," she said, calming herself. "What's your name?"

"Warren. My real name is Warren, but to most of the team I'm Angel. What's your real name?"

"I wish I knew," she said. He looked stricken and stepped forward, taking one of her hands in his own.

"I'm sorry, Tag, I forgot they told me. Don't be upset, please?" She looked at him and tried to liven up.  
"It's ok, Warren. I haven't remembered who I was for years." She smiled almost cheerfully. "I'm sorry for the battle stance, it's second nature, you know."

"Yeah, I know. You couldn't have hurt me, though, from what I hear." He grimaced almost immediately, sensing this was the wrong thing to say.

"I could have, too. I might have accidentally replaced your lungs for socks, or something bizarre like that. And it's for that very reason I'm here, actually. I don't mean to be rude, but I need to practice. Alone, so nothing bad happens to anyone," she said, heavily stressing the word bad. He nodded, almost reluctantly.

"Alright, I can take a hint. I know when I'm not wanted. See you 'round, Tag," he said, and as he slid out of the door, he mock-saluted her. She shook her head, but a wide grin crept across her face.

"Hafta remember, once I face Lensherr again, to thank him for abandoning me. If he hadn't, why, I might never have met any of these people under friendly circumstances!" She chuckled, and brought out her bag of marbles and a few other small objects: a pen, a piece of gum, a few pennies, a paper clip, a safety pen, and a bracelet. "Here goes nothing," she muttered, setting the said items on a table which materialized at her command. She set up two marbles on one end, apart from the rest. They were about the same size, same relative diameter all around. One was a blue cat's-eye, and the other a scarlet one. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and studied the marbles for a few minutes. She held her hands out in an unwilling mimic of her former battle pose, and closed her eyes briefly. She snapped them open again, drawing upon her power as much as she dared. After a moment of concentration, she relaxed and tentatively peered at her results. She sighed, in apparent relief. The marbles had switched places, although here and there a spot of the opposite color could be found on each marble. "Better than usual," she said, and proceeded with her training.

* * *

"Tag?" Storm asked, knocking softly on the door to the Danger Room. "You in there, honey?" The door creaked open, slowly, and Tag stumbled out, her eyes a tad bloodshot. She smiled weakly and fell to her knees, clutching the doorpost in vain for support. "Oh, girl, are you alright?" Storm asked, helping the exhausted mutant to her feet. This proved to be a pointless move, as the tired Tag wobbled on unsteady feet for a second or two, then plopped back on the ground. Tag looked up at the woman with that same silly, weak smile.

"How long was I in there, Storm?" she asked, resting her head against the doorframe and breathing unevenly.

"Several hours, I believe," Storm said, producing a bottle of water. "Drink, honey, you look like you're about to fade away. The Professor wanted to know where you were, since you didn't show up for dinner."

"What…" Tag thankfully received the water and drank it, slowly and deeply. "Um, I'm sorry. Thirsty, though." Storm nodded, and Tag went on. "What time is it, anyway? You lose all sense of it in that deathtrap." She nudged her head in the direction of the Danger Room.

"Nearly midnight" Both women fell silent for a moment, then Storm looked inside the training room uncertainly. "So, how are you coming along in your training?" Tag grinned feebly.

"Well, I at least can switch marbles safely now. My experiments with oddly-shaped objects, like a paper clip, are.. Not as fruitful. I'm getting better with switching differently-shaped stuff, like a penny and a bracelet, but until I get better, I have a blue plastic penny and a heavy, copper bracelet." She held out her wrist for the older woman to examine, and Storm scanned it with delight.

"Well, it's a sight better than having a blue hand, I'd say," she said, smiling. "Feeling up to standing?" Tag rubbed the back of her neck absently.

"I can try," she said, having finally caught her breath. The young mutant stood, shakily, to her feet, and managed not to come crashing back down to Earth. "Ok. I'm up. I'm tired. Does the Professor need me or can I hit the sack?"

"No, he just needs to know of your progress. I'll let him know," Storm said, letting Tag drape her arm over her shoulders, "so you can get some rest." The other woman sighed in relief. They began the slow, laborious walk back to Tag's room.

"Thanks, Storm." Tag smiled at her friend. "Has everyone else gone off to bed, then?"

"Yeah, especially the children. Don't be so loud," she said, in a stage whisper. Both women smiled, knowing full well that it didn't matter.

"Hey, Storm…" a voice said, from ahead, in the gloom of the dormitory halls.

"Logan?" Storm asked, frowning. Tag groaned unhappily. "You told us you were going to bed an hour ago."

"You know me, I can't sleep," he said, stepping forward into their line of vision. He glanced at Tag, then did an almost comic double-take. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Over-exerted herself, of course," Storm said, trying to step past Logan with Tag in tow. Logan put out a hand to stop them and took Tag's arm. "Logan…" Storm said, inflicting a soft threat into her voice. He held up his free hand.

"I'm carrying her to her room, Storm. She wouldn't be much fun in her current state, anyway," he added, grinning, as Tag weakly punched his arm. He smirked at her. "C'mon, kid, I'm trying to be a good guy."

"Is that even possible?" Tag asked, and coughed. "Augh," she whispered. "I'm kidding, Logan," she said, then turned to look at Storm inquisitively. The older woman gave her a warning look, and a small flick of her right index finger towards herself: be careful, and if you need me, let me know. She nodded, and Logan stood there impatiently, looking confused but trying not to show it. He raised an eyebrow impatiently, and Storm smiled.

"If you two are through," he began, and Tag nodded. "Ok, kid, hold on," he said, and with one swift movement, he swept her up into his strong arms. His fluid movements made her uneasy but Storm's nod reassured her. "Which one's yours?" he asked her as they swiftly left Storm behind in the hall. She paused a moment, and he looked at her. "Well? Unless you'd rather spend the night in someone else's dorm…?" he asked, grinning suggestively. He stopped at an intersection of hallways to hear her answer. She looked away, her eyes falling on a certain teleporter's door. She blushed violently and he grinned. "Is that a yes?" She snapped her gaze so it locked with his, and she narrowed her eyes.

"I might want to, but not in YOURS, Logan," she snarled. He followed her former gaze and frowned. "Mine is not that far away, and I can manage from here on my own, thank you." She squirmed feebly until he set her down. "Goodnight, Logan," she said, and started slowly down the hall towards her room. He leaned against the wall and watched her go with uncertainty, then shook his head and went on as a door slammed from somewhere in the darkness.

* * *

"EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THE INSTITUTE IS UNDER ATTACK. ALL X-MEN RESPOND IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK. ALL X-MEN PLEASE RESPOND." All around the lower levels, mutants looked up in alarm as the warning blared out, along with the typical warning beep. Tag gasped and dropped her bag of marbles in the Danger Room, then scrambled to pick them back up again. She had just gotten the last one in the bag when Warren burst into the room.

"Tag! The Professor wants you, right now!" He grabbed her hand and nearly removed her arm from its socket dragging her from the room. "We're under attack and there's someone here who claims to know you!" Tag stared at him in disbelief.

"Wha?" she asked, stumbling and trying to regain her balance. "But… the only ones who know me are either with the Brotherhood, the X-Men, or… dead! This doesn't make any sense!" Warren shrugged.

"Don't ask me!" he said, darting down the hall that led to the elevator. "Some guy named…Gary something. Says he remembers you from a long time ago." They slid into the elevator with Storm, Logan, and Cyclops, and all of them looked angry and tense. She gave a little shiver and was glad to leave the elevator. Warren grabbed her hand again and forced her to run once again.

"Why aren't the children panicking?" Tag asked, as they passed a bunch of the younger ones, lined up calmly in the hall.

"They practice drills on this kind of thing, and we don't let them hear the same warning that the lower levels hear," he explained, and the skidded to a stop before the professor's office. "Good luck," he whispered, squeezing her hand and opening the door. She stepped in and closed it slowly, nervous and not at all willing to face someone from her unhappy past.

"Tag," the professor said, his voice apprehensive. She sighed and turned around gradually. Standing beside the professor was a young man with short, spiked black hair. His eyes narrowed at the corners, and that bothered her severely for no reason at all. He wore a long trench coat made of a shiny black material that seemed so familiar. She blinked, and peered at the teeth that were revealed by his slowly widening smile. They came down to wicked points, especially on his canines. Under the trench, he wore a shirt bearing a familiar Japanese kanji on the front, and form-fitting black jeans. Boots peered from beneath his pant legs. She lifted a hand to her forehead as a massive wave of pain assaulted her brain, and she staggered a little. The man frowned and took a half-step forward, then was stopped by the professor.

"Who are you?" she whispered fearfully. "Where… how do you know me?" she trembled, and leaned against the doorpost for support.

"You don't remember me?" he asked, sounding deeply hurt. He glanced at he professor, whose gaze was locked onto Tag. "Where have you been all these years, Tag?"

"Tag, are you alright?" the professor asked, leaning forward. She nodded, and this was true, for the pain was diminishing. She frowned, for though the pain was receding, she kept hearing young children screaming in joy. One voice, louder than the others, cried, "Tag! You're it!"

"You… who are you?" Tag repeated, puzzled. An explosion caused them all to defy gravity for a moment, and the professor wore a troubled look. He closed his eyes for a brief pause, then the blue teleporter landed in their midst, startling the strange mutant.

"Kurt, stay here and keep an eye on things," he ordered. "I must see to the attacks." Kurt gave a nod and Professor Xavier wheeled away hastily. Kurt spared the man an apprehensive glance, and his tail twitched.

"You really don't remember me?" he asked, and she winced. "I'm Gary West. My power is becoming a dragon. My nickname as a kid was Drake." Each statement made her eyes grow larger, and he leaned forward until his face was close to hers and she trembled in trepidation and fear. "You and I used to play a little game called Power Tag."

* * *

Special, eh? I'm halfway through the next chapter, so ye might even get another chapter this year!


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